My angling diary this year is fuller than ever, with trips both home and abroad
I GET asked a lot about what I’m planning to do over the next three months, now that the rivers are shut for the closed season.
To these people I reply: “What closed season?” I’ve been an all-rounder for most of my angling life and, because of that, I can always find a place to fish that will give me a few bites.
I don’t care about the time of year, or what the weather may throw at me, and certainly not if it happens to be the closed season! There are plenty of other options.
This year I’ll be kicking off with trout, and because the rivers have been so high I’ve started earlier than normal.
Not that I’m complaining… already I’ve taken at least 10 double-figure trout, four of which came on my last trip, so I’m in fine spirits.
Now I’m looking forward to two days on Rutland Water in April, after which I’ll be off up to the Welsh mountains for a few days on Clywedog Reservoir, which happens to be one of my favourite places on the planet.
I fish these venues in the company of nice people and eat nice food in the evenings. This, on top of the superb early spring fishing , makes for a great time, which is what it’s all about for me.
Then I’ve got some salmon fishing laid on here and abroad. This is my new passion, and it’s such a pleasure to learn fresh skills and mix with anglers from different walks of life who hold different views on fishing , the countryside and conservation. My thirst for angling knowledge still shows no signs of slowing down, and I’m very pleased with myself about that.
Next up, I have a big shark fishing trip laid on for two days, when I’ll be after porbeagles and maybe even a thresher shark if my mate Steve and I get lucky – fingers crossed!
This is a trip where we rely on the skills of the skipper to get us on the fish – indeed, except for reeling them in, we won’t be doing a lot.
But if I catch any shark, be it 100lb or 500lb, I’ll be an instant expert on these fish, I kid you not!
Seriously, if you can afford the trip, anyone can do it and be a hero for a day, and there’s nothing wrong at all with that.
Still on the sea theme, I must get stuck into those ballan wrasse with Damion Fryer in Cornwall soon, because that truly is exciting fishing. It tests your nerve getting down to the spot you plan to fish, let alone hooking the beasts, so I need to get that in the diary.
Around May I am planning a tench trip or two, as I have done for the last couple of years, but I’ve not yet decided where. I may even travel north this year, but I’ll see how I feel at the time and what the weather is looking like. I’m hoping
